Bellator 98 results: Shlemenko retains title in slugfest with Cooper

It was sometimes sloppy, but it was always fun. And in the end, Bellator’s middleweight champion survived to retain his title.

Alexander Shlemenko took a unanimous decision from Brett Cooper on Saturday in the main event of Bellator 98. The champ was nearly finished and hurt on several occasions, but eked out a 48-47 nod from the judges. He was nearly a 7-to-1 favorite in the fight.

Bellator 98 took place at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card aired on Spike TV following prelims on Spike.com.

Both fighters threw powerful kicks and punches throughout the first round, with Cooper circling outside and Shlemenko taking his time trying to measure his strikes. He landed a spinning back fist midway through the round, then found himself needing to defend a Cooper takedown. A minute later, Cooper hurt the champion with a right hand and had him wobbled. But rather than rushing in, Cooper played it safe.

In the second, Cooper continued to be effective in the standup game, and opened a cut under the champ’s left eye. But as the second round wound down, Shlemenko turned it on. After a kick to the head, he started boxing Cooper’s body and head and appeared to have him hurt. But Cooper fired back with a perfect right hand that had Shlemenko wobbled. The champion played to the crowd and put his hands up as if he wasn’t hurt. But he clearly was, and Cooper landed a hard takedown as the round ended.

Both fighters continued firing away in the third, and both continued to land. Both also continued to come forward, and again Shlemenko puts his arms in the air as if to say he wasn’t bothered by the punches from the challenger. Midway through the round, Shlemenko went after a guillotine choke, but he couldn’t hold it.

Right away in the fourth, Shlemenko drilled Cooper and put him on the canvas. Sensing a finish, he moved in and had Cooper in trouble. But Cooper survived, wobbly and in trouble, but still alive. Shlemenko nearly paid for letting him survive, as Cooper again landed some big blows inside that the champ again raised his hands over. With a minute left, Shlemenko hit Cooper with a barrage of punches – but again Cooper survived.

Both fighters looked battered as the final round started, with the champ’s face looking a little worse for the wear compared to the challenger’s. And with understandable faded energy, the two continued to swing at each other. Midway through, Cooper went after a takedown, but did nothing with it. Shlemenko hit several punches, then tied Cooper up and took him down with two minutes left. Cooper looked gassed on the canvas, but he got back to his feet and kept throwing. But Shlemenko got another takedown late, and if the fight was hanging in the balance, he wanted to make sure he sealed things up.

And that he did, taking the trio of 48-47 scores from the judges.

“I’m very happy, and thank you Brett Cooper for that fight,” Shlemenko said.

Shlemenko (48-7 MMA, 9-1 BMMA) won for the 11th straight time. Cooper (19-9 MMA, 6-4 BMMA) lost for the second straight time after a six-fight winning streak.

Parlo dominates Rogers to advance to semifinalsMikkel Parlo didn’t get credit for knocking out Brian Rogers, but he probably should.

Parlo, with the fight in the bag, kept going after Rogers late in the fight. He landed a giant knee with seconds left, and big shots as the fight ended probably would’ve meant a TKO win at any other time. As it was, he had to settle for a unanimous decision to earn a spot against Jason Butcher in the Bellator Season 9 middleweight tournament semifinals.

Rogers kicked Parlo’s leg early in the fight and appeared to hurt him, but seconds later Parlo moved in on a Rogers slip and tried to take advantage. Rogers tried to come in with a jumping knee with an overhand right behind it. Then he got inside with a left hand and another flying knee, but Parlo shrived the shots and stood in to land a big right hand of his own. Parlo bullied Rogers to the ground late in the round, but Rogers swept out of it. A Parlo knee late in the frame probably put him over the top in the round. But more importantly, but he proved he had the chin to stand and trade with Rogers, arguably Bellator’s hardest hitter.

Parlo bullied Rogers to the ground in the second and got to full mount, where he worked him over and nearly took his back. But with more than three minutes left in the round, Parlo had Rogers in a world of trouble. Parlo postured up and landed big punches as Rogers struggled to get up.

In the third, a minute in, Parlo landed a takedown and went back to work with ground-and-pound as Rogers looked like his energy was waning. And that’s where the fight would remain until about eight seconds left, when Rogers finally got to his feet – only to eat a huge knee that sent him straight to his back on the canvas. Parlo moved in and landed several big punches – but the referee let Rogers survive to hear the judges’ scores, which were 30-27 and a pair of 30-26s for Parlo, who picked up two 10-8s in the final round.

Parlo (10-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) got back in the win column after a February loss to Sultan Aliev at Bellator 89. Rogers (10-6 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) saw his Bellator tournament struggles continue as he was bounced in the first round for the second straight time.

Butcher survives Santana’s ground game to get TKO
Jason Butcher came into his fight with Giva Santana saying he wasn’t worried about the elite-level black belt’s ground game.

He found out quickly in the first, though, that he needed to be. Butcher had to survive “The Arm Collector” going after an arm, and a neck, and in the second he got a come-from-behind TKO victory that ultimately led to Santana’s retirement from the sport.

Giva went after Butcher’s right arm early, then easily worked his way around in side control. Butcher got back to half-guard, but it was clear he had an uphill battle right away in the fight. Butcher tried to work on getting Santana’s arm for a kimura, but it wouldn’t happen. With 90 seconds left, Giva got to full mount and Santana got an arm triangle. He jumped to the side and tightened it up. But he couldn’t’ finish and jumped back to mount. Butcher reversed as the round wound down, but it was a clear round for Santana.

In the second, Butcher landed a short right hand to the jaw that wobbled Santana. He took advantage and moved in closer to land some punches as Santana hit the canvas, and Butcher was right on top of him to land ground-and-pound until the fight was stopped.

“I rocked him, so I thought I’d put all the pressure on him and keep going till the ref stops me,” Butcher said. “I cannot wait (to fight in the semifinals). I’m ready to train again tonight.”

Butcher (7-0 MMA, 4-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten in his pro career

Ward attacks Torrey’s eye to get gruesome stoppageBrennan Ward only Friday found out he was going to be fighting in Bellator’s middleweight tournament, taking a spot that Andreas Spang vacated. And he took advantage in a big, bloody way.

Ward’s fight with Justin Torrey was competitive early, but Ward was able to drill his opponent in the left eye to create a big mouse. In between rounds, the doctor took a look at the mouse and told Torrey he needed to protect it, because if it got worse, the fight would be over.

Well, it got worse. Ward wisely went right after the eye and popped the mouse open. When the fight hit the ground, Ward went right after it in a big way and drilled the eye with shot after shot as the referee looked in. Finally, mercifully, with Torrey unable to defend and blood spilling on the canvas, Ward had his TKO victory.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Ward said. “If you get an opportunity, you’ve got to seize it.”

Ward (7-1 MMA, 3-1 BMMA) won for the second straight time. Torrey (7-1 MMA, 2-1 BMMA) lost for the first time in his pro career.

Filkins survives Kimball’s first round to advance
In the opening fight of Bellator’s Season 9 middleweight tournament, Perry Filkins needed to survive a rough first round to beat Jeremy Kimball.

Kimball worked kicks to the legs early and tried to pepper in some jabs. But Filkins came forward with a solid combination and smiled at Kimball with his hands down. Kimball shot for a takedown midway through the round, but he couldn’t keep Kimball on the ground. But 30 seconds later, Kimball tackled him again. He scored his third takedown with 30 seconds left in the round, and landed a fourth at the bell after a frustrated Flikins tried to push forward with a combination. Although Kimball wasn’t able to do much with the takedowns, they still scored points.

In the second, Kimball dominated early, but the round’s highlight came when Filkins pulled off a switch and scooped Kimball up. He held him in the air for a number of seconds, then slammed him to the canvas. He eventually settled into Kimball’s guard and tried to go to work with ground-and pound. Filkins got full back mount with 15 seconds left in the round and he landed punch after punch as the referee looked in – but Kimball was saved by the bell to see the third.

Kimball looked tired in the third, and he tried a takedown nearly midway through that Filkins stuffed. He tried to land ground-and-pound in Kimball’s guard and worked to pass. Kimball went after a leg lock, but that cost him as Filkins got to side control. Kimball gave his back trying to get out, and Filkins went after the rear-naked choke finish with 80 seconds left. After briefly having mount, Filkins again took Kimball’s back and was able to get the tap on his second try.

Filkins (8-1 MMA, 2-0 BMMA) stretched his winning streak to six and moved on to the tournament semifinals, where he’ll meet Brennan Ward. Kimball (10-4 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) had a six-fight winning streak snapped.

Derek Anderson outworks, upsets Patricky Freire
In the night’s biggest upset, Derek Anderson showed no mind for the odds against Patricky “Pitbull” Freire, and it paid off with a unanimous decision win.

In the first round, Freire nearly got Anderson finished with an arm bar, then a triangle. But Anderson slammed his way out of danger. Freire won the round, but Anderson showed throughout that he wasn’t there to be a stepping stone.

In the second, Anderson was found himself on the ground early, but midway through his confidence picked up and he found his range and rhythm. With two minutes left, he smiled at “Pitbull” and fired away at him. And with a minute left in the frame, Freire shot in on Anderson, was easily stuff, and flopped quickly to his back into guard. Referee Keith Peterson made Freire stand up, and the clearly fatigued Brazilian ate several good kicks and punches from Anderson before heading to the final frame.

The two traded jabs and kicks in the third, but it was Anderson who looked fresher as Freire’s mouth bled. A spinning back kick for Anderson drilled Freire in the shoulder, and Freire responded with one of his own, followed by a weak takedown attempt. In the end, all three judges saw the fight 29-28 for Anderson, and “Pitbull,” a more than 4-to-1 favorite in the fight, threw his hands down in disbelief.

“I wasn’t scared. I thought he was a perfect opponent. I’m just excited to be here. That was my toughest fight yet.”

Anderson (10-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) stayed unbeaten, but had to go the distance for the first time in his career. Freire (10-5 MMA, 3-4 BMMA) saw his struggles continue with his third straight loss and fourth in five fights.

Diekmann part of four stoppages on preliminary cardJosh Diekmann (13-5 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) threw bombs with Parker Porter right away in the first round. Diekmann hurt Porter with a pair of right hands, and Porter hit the canvas, going after a single-leg takedown in defense. But all he could do was hold on while Diekmann landed 20 hammerfists before Dan Miragliotta stopped the fight after 72 seconds of swinging.

Mike Mucitelli (5-0 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) was getting beat up on the ground against Jeff Nader (5-5 MMA, 1-1 BMMA), and Nader, in the process of defending himself, accidentally raked across his opponent’s eyes. With Nader unable to open his left eye, after five minutes of back-and-forth with the doctor, referee and commission, the fight finally was called a no-contest from the accidental poke.

Mark DellaGrotte-trained Rico DiSciullo (1-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA), making his pro debut, took care of business against Glenn Allaire (3–2 MMA, 0-1 BMMA) quickly, knocking him out with elbows and forearms just 81 seconds into their opening bantamweight fight.

Connecticut’s own Matt Bessette (12-4 MMA, 3-0 BMMA) dropped from lightweight to featherweight and drilled Nick Piedmont (8-4-1 MMA, 2-2 BMMA) with an overhand right, then finished him off with left hands on the ground 1:41 into the fight.

Ryan Quinn (8-4 MMA, 5-0 BMMA) went for an inverted triangle in the first round, but he wound up settling for a tight arm triangle choke to submit Brylan Van Artsdalen (8-8 MMA, 1-7 BMMA), also in the first. Remarkably, Quinn is 5-0 for Bellator, but just 3-4 for other promotions. But Van Artsdalen lost for the seventh time under the Bellator banner.

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